


A Fishing Vacation

by Bluewolf458



Category: The Sentinel (TV)
Genre: Gen, Sentinel Bingo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-23
Updated: 2018-09-23
Packaged: 2019-07-16 02:00:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,091
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16075991
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bluewolf458/pseuds/Bluewolf458
Summary: Blair decides that Jim needs a break





	A Fishing Vacation

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the 2018 Sentinel Bingo prompt 'crash and burn'

A Fishing Vacation

by Bluewolf

Jim had never taken his full vavation entitlement, or anywhere near it. Driven as he was to 'protect and serve', he had always felt that if he was on vacation he couldn't protect or serve. And so, apart from a few long weekends, he rarely left Cascade; even if he was officially on vacation, he was there if Simon needed him.

To give him his due, Simon tried not to call on Jim if he could possibly avoid it, and indeed made a point of going with him two or three weekends a year on fishing trips to make sure he went away. But Simon had his own responsibilities, and he, too, never took his full leave.

When he met Blair, and realized how serious Blair was about his academic commitments, Jim initially assumed that Blair would understand how driven he was to catch the bad guys. However, he soon discovered that Blair took his responsibilities to his sentinel as seriously as he took his responsibilities to the students - and one of those responsibilities, Jim soon learned, was to ensure that Jim didn't work himself to the point of collapse. Which, Jim had to admit (if only to himself) he often did.

And Blair, Jim soon learned, was the immovable rock against which the otherwise irresistible waves of his will to work broke futilely. The apparently easy-going ex-grad student who was now his official partner was a force to be reckoned with; and although Jim refused to let himself be seen as a pushover, he knew that as far as Blair was concerned he was never going to win - not once Blair had made up his mind about something.

The one thing about which Blair had recently made up his mind was Jim's need to take at least some of the vacation time he had been ignoring, go off into the wilds, and unwind. Jim was getting altogether too bad-tempered; one of these days he was going to crash and could easily burn out.

So Blair went to have a word with Simon one day when Jim was in court, testifying in a case that had broken while Blair was at the Academy, suggesting that the three of them have a vacation - at least two weeks, somewhere in the middle of nowhere. Two weeks would be pushing his own vacation entitlement - he only had eight days' time off due.

He found Simon surprisingly amenable; and that was when Blair realized that Simon, too, was feeling stressed out.

"But you don't have ten days' vacation time," Simon said.

"I know, but hopefully Jim doesn't. I'm willing to take two days unpaid leave if it'll let Jim and you have a decent break."

"I've got a better idea; I'll transfer two days of my entitlement to you."

"You can do that?"

"Yup. That way you'll get those two days paid and the department will even save money because your pay is less than mine. Course, it does mean that unless you take time off in lieu of overtime, this'll be your last break of the year."

"I understand that. But you and Jim will have had a good break - and I know Jim wouldn't go unless I did. Oh, and Simon - "

"Yes?"

"This is your idea. It'll explain those two days, if Jim realizes about them, and... well... he'll argue less about 'not needing the time off' if it comes from you. As if you're wanting the break, and asking us along for the company."

"You know, I'm glad you're on our side. You can be really devious when you want to be!"

Blair grinned. "You'd better believe that!" he said. "But seriously, Simon - I've got to be devious if I'm to do a proper job of keeping Jim from overdoing things. You know, probably better than I do, how obsessed he can get. Whether that's just Jim, whether it's his sentinel instincts, or whether it's how his father brought him up... "

"His father?" Simon sounded surprised.

"Apparently he was a helluva disciplinarian when Jim was growing up. It's as well that both Jim and his brother are intelligent. Because they were Ellisons they had to excel at everything. They could go home with A+ grades for everything and he'd tell them they could have - should have - done better. Doing something just for fun... not in his book.

"In a way it's surprising that Jim enjoys fishing. You can be good at it, but ultimately if the fish aren't biting you'll catch nothing. But apparently, years ago, William Ellison didn't - couldn't - understand that in a situation like that, it wasn't anyone's fault, anyone's carelessness, anyone's lack of effort. He's learned more tolerance now - however he learned it - but when Jim was growing up... " Blair shook his head. "He had a pretty miserable life."

"Is that why... "

"Why? Why what?"

"Don't think we haven't noticed. Jim seems to be a very dominant person, but he falls in with what you want a lot of the time."

"Yes - he was brought up to do what he was told... and his time in the army didn't help. But if I'm devious enough about it, I can give him the illusion that he's made a decision for himself."

"Protecting his dignity as well as everything else?" Simon asked.

"It's part of my job as his guide."

***

And so nine days later the three of them went off on a two-week fishing break.

They spent many happy hours relaxing - fishing some of the time, hiking some of the time; and sometimes just sitting quietly, exchanging a few words, though never words that related to work. Several times - especially in the first week - both Jim and Simon fell asleep as their batteries recharged. When they did, Blair grinned in satisfaction and reached into his backpack for one of the books he had brought, though he chose only to read when his friends slept.

And if Jim did realize that the whole thing had been Blair's suggestion rather than Simon's... he never said. He was too grateful for the break.

But he did decide that they would have another break before the fishing season was over - and this time he would transfer some of his unused days off to Blair. Yes – he knew Simon had done that.

Because without Blair's help he would have burned out long since, and he knew it. And although he found it almost impossible to put his feelings into words, he really did appreciate everything Blair did to help him.

 

 


End file.
